Thursday Top 10: Coolest eBay auctions in August

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Is eBay full of overpriced tat that never sells, even if it used to belong to a celebrity? Well, yes. Although obviously there’s much more to it than that. Bayraider has just rounded up its favourite ten auctions for August, which has a healthy dash of those celeb auctions, but also includes some gadgety ones too, such as the home-made robot that looks suspiciously like a dalek, and miniature rawk drumkits for your toddlers.

1. Charlie Sheen’s home gymDid
Denise Richards walk out on Charlie Sheen because he had flabby
man-boobs? Who knows, but the fact that his home gym has turned up on
eBay in "like new" condition certainly implies that the Sheenster
wasn’t keeping his pecs in trim. The set includes a quad push, squat
rack, calf raiser and lat pulldown, with a starting price of $995. The
auction’s still going, with no bids yet.

2. Angelina Jolie’s used hanky Steady
on, stalkers, Angelina didn’t actually sneeze into it. Instead, this
hanky was used to wipe the faces of her two eldest children during a
shopping trip, doubtless while tutting loudly and ignoring their pleas
of "OH, MUU-UM!" in true motherly fashion. The starting price was
$1,500, but nobody bid for it. Don’t evil DNA-cloning scientists check
eBay these days?

3. Tommy Steele’s old miniAfter
pleading my ignorance of "famous comedian" Tommy Steele, I was even
more ashamed to find that, er, he’s not a comedian at all, but one of
the first British rock’n’roll stars. D’oh! Anyway, his green Mini was
up for grabs on eBay this month, which despite being 30 years old got a
flurry of bids, taking the price to £2,760. Unfortunately, the reserve
price wasn’t met, so watch for it again next month in a re-listing.

4. Steven the dalek robot Fear
of being sued means this eBay seller couldn’t call his home-made robot
a dalek, even though, well, that’s what it is. Either way, it’s very
cool. You sit inside on a seat and push yourself around using your feet
(stairs? take the lift). There’s also a built-in voice modulator that
converts your voice to dalek robot tones, while its
ears flash. Its price was £1,399, but sadly the link’s now diverting to
some rubbish Val Kilmer suit, so I assume the auction was taken down.
For shame.

5. Madonna’s stage altarJust
to remind us that Madonna’s crucifix antics on her current tour aren’t
the first time she’s baited the Catholic Church, someone was flogging
the prop altar used on Madge’s 1990 Blond Ambition tour, and also seen
in her Truth Or Dare film. Despite the wear and tear of being used in
more than 50 gigs, it attracted 44 bids, taking the final selling price
to $3,000.

6. Michael Jackson’s Swarovski white gloveJacko
didn’t wear any old white gloves when performing in his heyday.
Instead, he had them custom-made, complete with hundreds of Swarovski
crystals hand-sewn into them. One turned up on eBay this month, fresh
from the estate of Sammy Davis Jr. (Michael had given it to him
on-stage at a tribute gig in the early 80s). Its price is $40,000, and
it’s still on sale now.

7. Marilyn Monroe’s old paint set Who
knew Marilyn was a keen painter? I didn’t know she had time in between
acting commitments, seducing presidents and writing letters to the
local council about annoyingly-placed air vents. But this month saw one
of Maz’s paint sets turn up on eBay for $5,500, and apparently she
actually used it to paint a picture of a rose for President Kennedy.
Despite this heritage, the item didn’t sell.

8. The last ever photo of Elvis PresleyOf
course, if Elvis had died now, the last ever photo would probably have
been him collapsed on the loo, snatched by a minder using their
cameraphone. But in 1977, such technology didn’t exist, so the last
photo of The King was taken as he pulled into the drive of Graceland at
12.28am. Three hours later, he was dead. The original print of said
photo was on eBay for $4,999 this month, and the auction ends today, so
there’s still time to nip in.

9. Paris Hilton’s poodle broochI’m
surprised you can’t buy Paris Hilton’s actual poodle (well, chihuahua)
on eBay – surely she’s bored of it by now. But no, this auction was for
an exceedingly bling brooch, with shiny green emerald eyes and covered
in Swarovski crystals – Paris must’ve taken a leaf out of Michael
Jackson’s book. The brooch eventually sold for $77, which seems
something of a bargain considering how much the heiress probably paid
for it in the first place.

10. Child-size Led Zep, Who and Queen drumkitsIf
I had kids, I certainly wouldn’t want them seeing Keith Moon or John
Bonham as role models. I’ve only got one TV, and it’s staying very
firmly OUT of the paddling pool. But some drumkits turned up on eBay
this month that changed my mind. They’re modelled on those used by Led
Zeppelin, The Who and Queen, complete with logos. And they’re
mini-sized, so your toddler can pound out the solo to Moby Dick without
stretching. A snip at £64.99.